Chabad Rabbi Attacked in German Shopping Center

A 39-year-old Chabad rabbi was attacked by a group of youth in the German city of Offenbach, near Frankfurt.

By Rina Tzvi

First Publish: 6/6/2013, 2:26 PM

rabbi walking down street (illustrative)

Flash 90

A 39-year-old Chabad rabbi was attacked by a group of young men in the German city of Offenbach, near Frankfurt, according to media reports.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gurewitz was reportedly attacked in the KOMM German shopping center by a group of six to eight young men who pushed him as they yelled “s---- Jew”.

A local police spokesman said a criminal complaint had been filed and there was probable cause to investigate for an anti-Semitic hate crime, bodily injury and harassment, according to a statement released by the World Jewish Congress (WJC).

State security officials are also investigating the incident.

The men reportedly pursued Gurewitz as he attempted to flee the scene, but the rabbi was eventually rescued by his friend driving an automobile.

Gurewitz had attempted to take pictures of his attackers with his cell phone.

The men claimed they had not aimed their comments at the rabbi, but rather called one of their own a "s--- Jew" for being stingy, according to the WJC.

According to reports, the shopping center's security personnel then intervened and asked Gurewitz to delete the photos.

Mark Dainow, a vice-president of the Jewish community in Offenbach, criticized the security personnel for failing to intervene when the youths began attacking the rabbi.

In recent months, several Jews, including rabbis, have been attacked or verbally insulted on the streets in Germany.

In a comment published on the German website 'Hagalil.com' in which he describes the incident, Gurewitz says that verbal anti-Semitic insults directed at his sons were an everyday phenomenon in Offenbach, where one third of the residents are foreigners, according to WJC.